Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare pledged to involve patients/clients and families in their care

As our tagline says, we’re changing lives together at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare in Windsor ON, so when we heard about the opportunity to make change province-wide, we were eager to take part.

We knew that we could not make a pledge that would speak to enhancing the experience of the patients in our care without actually consulting them, so as we do with the majority of our work, we brought our Change Day Ontario pledge ideas to our Patient and Family Engagement Council’s (PFEC) table.

PFEC is a group consisting of former patients, family of former patients, community partners, and staff of Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare. PFEC is an important resource to our organization as they are at the centre of our Quality Improvement initiatives. PFEC along with our Senior Management Council review areas of opportunity and offer ideas on the best way to move forward with changes that affect the patient experience.

Together, we finalized our Change Day Ontario pledge to involve patients/clients and families in their care. Instead of simply asking staff to support our pledge, we challenged them to think deeper, to think of how they fit into our pledge statement. We asked staff and community partners what drew them to Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare? What ignites their passion? What step, big or small, could they take to make compassionate quality care better for our patients/clients? The responses have been astounding.

Judy Simms, one of Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare’s Clinical Practice Managers has pledged to involve patients/clients and families in their care by always listening to the patient when determining their goals of care.

Rita Gidillini, a Child and Youth Worker with our Regional Children’s Centre, has pledged to support children and their families through their struggles in hopes of achieving their vision of a healthier and happier family.

Colin Matthews, Research Assistant, has pledged to ensure patient input is included when planning programs and services.

And Kim Holt, RN, has pledged to always put patients first and be their advocate throughout their road to recovery, along a path that will lead them to the best possible outcomes, health, and happiness.

We are proud to say that we change lives each day at Hôtel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and through Change Day Ontario, it is our hope to make change locally and provincially in the healthcare system by encouraging others to always involve patients, clients, and their families in their care.